Mine to Protect Chapter 125: SHOPPING WITH MY MATE

*Hazel*

I am feeling a little uneasy though, I will look absolutely out of place dressed like this near the perfect Ken doll; I should have listened to Alice, but now it’s too late to go back and change, so I pretend I don’t care about what I am wearing at all.

“Shall we?” I say nonchalantly, while going to open the passenger door.

“Wait,” Derek orders, taking me by surprise, my hand frozen on the door handle, until he reaches around the car and opens the door for me.

I can’t help a small smile, always the gentleman.

I sit in the car, and he straps me in, his hand softly touching my thigh when fiddling with the buckle. My heart is thumping wildly again, and when he’s done with the buckle, he turns his face my way, and we are so close that we are practically touching. Stupidly, I blush, and he smirks, before straightening himself and shutting the door for me.

He’s doing it on purpose! He knows the effect he has on me. And if he keeps this up, I don’t know how long I will be able to resist him. I need to avoid being too close to him at any cost.

After ten minutes in complete silence, I can’t take it anymore, and I ask one of the questions that has bothered me since earlier, when he showed me the marks on my shoulder.

“Derek, why am I feeling so weak? Is it because my wolf is weak? Or because of the wolfsbane?”

“A little of both, and some more. This time the darts they used on you didn’t contain only wolfsbane, they contained the same concoction they shot me with in the Moon Shade pack. Luckily, your resistance to those substances is much higher than mine.”

I stay silent, thinking that this time they are really aiming to end me, they are not taking tests anymore, they want me dead.

“I still don’t understand how the darts could breach my shield,” I say out loud, more to myself than to Derek.

“Maybe you wolf’s powers are weakened too,” Derek offers.

It could be, but they were working just fine until those darts hit me; deep down I feel like there is another explanation for this, I just can’t figure out what it is.

Soon we are at the shopping mall, Derek helps me out of the car, and then places an arm on my shoulders. I quirk a brow at him, but he just smirks and says, “The doctor said I need to keep you close, and you are still weak, you will tire less if I support some of your weight.”

I am not convinced in the least by his excuse, but I still let him get his way, mainly because he smells too good, his body is comfortably warm, and I like the feel of his embrace. I will have time to beat myself later, I just want to enjoy his closeness, and this sense of protection, for the moment.

We walk around without saying anything, I am still so lost in my thoughts that I am not really paying attention to any of the shops we pass by.

“You are incredibly quiet; are you feeling ok? If you are not feeling well, we can go back, we can come back another time,” Derek says, stopping and turning to look at me, a worried expression on his face.

His hands are on my shoulders, and his face is only millimeters from mine, he just needs to lean in a little closer, and we could be kissing.

I clear my throat, and turn around, entering the first shop I find.

“No, I am good,” I say, trying to sound bold, but managing only a shaky voice.

As soon as I am in the shop, I regret my poor choice and try to get out of there before Derek follows me in, but of course, he’s right on my heels, so, turning around, I bump into him, making an even better fool of myself.

It is a lingerie shop, and not of the innocent kind, but the kind you would wear when you plan a night of wild sex with your partner.

“I don’t need any of these, let’s go,” I say lightly, trying to push him back, but his smirk is already in place, and I know I won’t be able to get out of here without him teasing me. Why did I choose a shop blindly?

He grabs me by my waist, and pulls me closer, his hot breath tickles my ear, before he says, “You might need it to appease a hungry wolf, you never know what beasts come out when is dark.”

I shiver a little at his words, finding them strangely exciting, and then my eyes go wide open when he picks a red lingerie set from the rack and admires it for a second.

“I’ll take this one,” he says to the shop assistant, who immediately comes to help. “In the size of this beautiful woman besides me,” he adds, placing an arm around my waist.

The shop assistant doesn’t seem impressed by my attire, she gives me a once over and then goes to fetch the product in the right size.

“You don’t need to buy it,” I tell Derek, hoping that he gets the hint, I don’t feel ready to take this step with him, not yet, and honestly, maybe never.

“I want to, and it’s not because I want to push you to have sex with me. I can wait, for as long as it takes.”

Again, his eyes hold so many emotions, and they confuse me, to the point that I don’t know what I want anymore.

He pays, takes the package, and we leave. This time he takes my hand in his, and again I let him, because it’s a sweet gesture, and it makes me feel happy. I know it shouldn’t, I have rejected him, I did it because I was done suffering because of him, but now, he’s making me remember all the good moments we had together, how awesome it feels being loved by him.

We stroll through at least 10 shops, before I feel my energy starting to dwindle, and I sit on a nearby bench, wanting to rest a little.

Derek crouches down before me, placing his strong hands on the side of my things, his thumbs caressing them softly.

“Hey, are you feeling tired? Maybe you should eat something, I’ll take you to my favorite restaurant here.”

“I am not sure I can walk much, let me rest for a second, I need to recover some energy,” I say feeling dizzy, and resting my head back on the headrest.

“You don’t look good, you’re pale, you definitely need some food, it will give you strength. Climb on my back, I’ll take you,” he says, before turning his back to me, still in a crouching position, waiting for me to climb up.

I stared at him for a second; is he serious? This is too embarrassing, there’s no way I’ll let him piggyback ride me to the restaurant!

“Hazel,” comes his warning voice, “is either this, or I am taking you there in my arms princess style, or like a sack of potatoes on my shoulder, you choose.”

I know from his tone of voice that he’s not joking, so I swallow my pride, and tentatively climb on his back. I haven’t let anyone give me a piggyback since I was in kindergarten, my dad would take me back home like that when I was too tired to walk, pretending that he was a white stallion, and I a fairy princess.

The memory makes me feel somewhat more relaxed, and I let Derek hook his arms under my thighs, while I secure my arms around his neck. When he straightens to his full height, I screech a little, I am not used to these heights.

“Hold tight, princess,” he says jokingly, his playful attitude infectious, and in the heat of the moment, I place a light kiss on his neck. He tenses, but recovers nearly immediately, pretending that nothing happened. I, on the other hand, feel completely ashamed, and I am grateful he can’t see my red face from behind him.